mud

Memories on a trail of bikes and boots,

Straw-like grains with strong, resistant roots. 

 

 

back at the Boat

Angler's don't let a little snow get in the way of a quiet morning in the Yampa. 

At least it was quiet until we wandered by...

...on our way to stinky Steamboat Spring.



On the way home we stopped through Winter Park which is nestled in the Frasier Valley, below a series of giant glacial cirques along the continental divide.

Still snowy!

blaze and easter

Blaze is a dragon and Easter is a bunny rabbit. They go where we go. Sometimes Tucker and Kenedy are indistinguishable from their multitude of stuffed animals.

Where's Tucker?!

 

day and night

What breaks but does not fall, falls but does not break?  Question from the lift line today. Nightfall at Steamboat resort...

Other questions from the lifts today: Who was the last president that was neither republican or democrat?  What percentage of species are extinct on earth?

Here are a few goofy lunchtime faces to go with our slopeside trivia.

Think snow!

little bear hugs

Some of the great mass of people delayed at DCA were able to make it home on the evening of the 24th. Luckily I was one of those people though my flight arrived in the wee hours of the morning.  I woke up the next morning in the best way possible: to a little bear hug from Tucker. 

rocky and rocks

Weather forecasts predicted strong winds, warm temps and no new snow.  The travel forecasts showed lighter than usual traffic up I-70. We weighed a bluebird day of skiing and not so bad traffic with not so good snow and two very burnt out kids.  Decision: stay home with a possibility of skiing tomorrow. 

Instead we headed to Rocky Mountain National Park for rock climbing and plain old sledding.  Turns out that Rocky wasn't snowy enough for sledding but still beautiful and fun.

The wind blew clouds across the sun, making for beautiful pictures of the Gore Range.

Fall River was icy but melting.  The cold wind kept us layered up with hats, gloves and coats.

Rock formations on the East side of Trail Ridge Road make Estes Park feel cozy and protected.  You can see those formations in the distance.

It wasn't too cold to climb up the rocky remnants of the 2009 Lawn Lake dam break. Though the higher we climbed, the less thrilled Tucker became.

And we wrapped up a short visit with some good, old-fashioned, teeter tottering. 

A very large moon rose over the hillside.  I played around with my camera's ISO, f-stop and aperture to faintly capture the experience.  Why do I forget how to do this so fast?



incoming

We were blasted by locomotive-like wind gusts as we drove through South Park on Monday. 

Thankfully we kept the car on the pavement for the whole ride home and the rocket box was not blown three miles up the valley. Funny thing, though. The chilly wind was blowing at home but the next day it was a balmy 70.

In mid February spring fever was coming on and the landscape had started its great melt.  Remember the episode of Northern Exposure when everyone goes a little more crazy until the ice finally breaks?!

sweet and savory

I woke up feeling great on Tuesday after our long weekend in the CB. I felt like I had flown down the mountain over and over again, trying to keep up with Kenedy and Tucker.  So, yea, I felt great...and exhausted.

I am reminded of my age on these days.  And while I feel a strong pull to play it safe on the slopes, I'm not that old just yet and I want to be able to keep up with two blooming skiers.  On my way home from work, I stopped through Windy Saddle coffee shop and this message was sitting on an empty shelf, just for me:

So maybe I'm not scared, maybe I'm wise!  But that wisdom came from pushing myself to try new things, take a few chances and accept the consequences whether they be growth or set back. Adventure on!

Presidents Day pow

Our snowy dreams came mostly true and after packing up our stuff, we found the slopes with 3 inches of new powder.

And empty lift lines...oh happy, fun day! 

And then it was time to go home.

We will be back...

more Butte, please

The morning started sunny but by lunchtime a cold wind was bringing in snow so we high tailed it to the base for more layers and lunch at Jefe's.

Turns out that while we ate lunch, everyone else went home and we had empty slopes with new snow all to ourselves.  

We took the Silver Queen lift straight to the top and watched gnarly climbers make their way up to the tip top of Crested Butte peak through blowing snow. 

We finished the day with a much better Paradise experience!  After the pool and dinner at The Last Steep we faded into dreams of powder ahead...

new kids on the butte

We took off for Crested Butte over President's Day weekend.  It's a long but beautiful 4 hour drive that we've tackled for extended weekends in the summer.

CB in May

CB in May

This is our first time skiing here.  There is plenty of snow piled up around town but they haven't had fresh powder for two weeks. The terrain is what they call gnarly so we will see how the day goes!

CB in February

The ski area is just gorgeous- set on the back of a pointy mountain that juts out in the middle of the East River valley.  No matter where on the mountain you end up, you are surrounded by both a gleaming snowy, meandering river valley and walls of layered Rocky Mountains.

Looking South/up to the ski area...

Looking back towards Gothic...

Looking northwest towards Aspen...

Maybe the slopes were full mid-day.  

So we stopped for a snack and Kenedy took advantage of the booty sledding course.  

The afternoon cleared up as the snow melted but we enjoyed ourselves on nearly empty slopes until we turned into zombies and headed back for food and rest.

The town is lovely, historic, with many delicious, albeit expensive, restaurants.  We of course stopped at Camp 4 Coffee to pick up beans and then Townie Books for local history.  

slopes

There is something about being on the top of the Rocky Mountains.  The deepness of the blue sky, harshness of the thin air and spaciousness of sound.

I love a blanket of untouched snow.  It makes me want to snowboard right through and mess up all of those sparkling poofs of powder; or borough into an igloo for a session of complete peace and quiet.

superbowl city

San Francisco is amped up to be Super Bowl City for the 50th Anniversary of the Super Bowl.  Literally there is a City dedicated to the Super Bowl along Market Street in front of Embarcadero Center.  Displays for every one of the first 50 Super Bowls are along the blocks heading toward the Bay with screens showing the games. 

And, a huge Lombardi trophy is plastered on the side of the HOK building.

Funny thing is that while there is hype in the media and along Market Street, the City seems unaffected and mostly uninterested.  It's still a city of busy people with things to do.  Maybe the Super Bowl is more of an annoyance than something to look forward to...maybe they just need the 49ers.